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Bosch Halts Scooter-Sharing Service

High costs and a competitive market contributed to the decision.

Bosch Ap
AP file

BERLIN (AP) — German engineering firm Bosch is shutting down its motor scooter-sharing service Coup, currently operating in four European cities.

In a statement Monday, Coup said it will end its operations in Berlin and the southwest German city of Tuebingen in mid-December. It said services in Paris and Madrid would also be discontinued shortly.

The company said it was not economically feasible to continue operating over the long term “given a sharing market that is extremely competitive and the service's high costs.”

Coup offered about 6,000 battery-powered motor scooters that could be located and rented using a smartphone app.

The company said it would help its 120 employees find new jobs or offer them severance packages.

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